


Paths

by whereyoursoulresides



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Drabble, Explorative, Ficlet, M/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-08 02:56:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11637471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whereyoursoulresides/pseuds/whereyoursoulresides
Summary: In his first and second lifetimes, Kunzite has taken many wrong paths. But he is a believer in cosmic balance, and hopes that he can right the wrongs of the past lives... with one question in the third.





	Paths

Kunzite had always thought he was cursed.

Well, perhaps _cursed_ was too strong a word. But looking back at his past, Kunzite couldn’t imagine how he would’ve coped if he hadn’t believed in _something_.

_The baby dying._

_Their father passing, one arm missing._

_Siblings disintegrating through the wind._

To this day, Kunzite wasn’t even sure how many of his kin had survived to adulthood. Sometimes he would not even dare think of it; the injustice that was unlocked with the act of knowing was too much for him to bear. And Kunzite had to watch his anger - emotions, adrenaline and energy - were all sources of power. He could not waste his resources in an explosive rage over something he knew too well he could not control.

_Leaving his ginger-haired friend._

_Encampment, sickness, war._

Strangely enough, _war_ was where Kunzite flourished. It was a world he already knew too well. If he could keep his head down and his focus on survival, he could succeed. Rapidly he rose through the ranks, his surprising skill with strategy gaining him attention and favors. Kunzite had always figured the curse would eventually end...after all, the concept of karma was essentially based on cost and deservance… and Kunzite had figured his childhood had been the price for his ultimate standing in life: the leader of the King’s Guard, the First of the Great Four.

So when Kunzite finally found Zoisite on the battlefield once more, he had figured he could handle the cost of his friend’s return. Their love was something he considered he deserved; after all, so much love had been taken from him in his youth. Who could dare say he did not, after all his sacrifice, deserved it now?

Perhaps the Prince, when he announced the forced engagements. But that was hardly an obstacle; affairs had been conducted behind much more difficult arrangements.

Perhaps Beryl, who ultimately blasted Zoisite in their second life, to death. To that, Kunzite had agreed; Zoisite’s death had been by the result of Kunzite’s own failure. That, Kunzite had truly deserved.

Perhaps the Moon Princess, who stood as a god above mortals, who had the power to take life and to revive. Her interference with Endymion came at a cost to so much more; the oblivion of Earth’s first Kingdom, a complete genocide. This injustice often infuriated Kunzite the most: how dare her romance be called _miracle_ , when it caused the death of millions of innocents?

But if Kunzite was genuinely honest with himself, he knew that karma was only an excuse for him. It had been his lifeline, but also the mask in which he shielded himself behind. By keeping his head down and focusing only on survival, following his supposition of give-and-take, he had taken several wrong paths that lead him to the biggest regret he has ever experienced.

_Zoisite dying._

Unfortunately, he had been to blind to see that someone else had followed him on all his paths. Someone who had followed him willingly into the Gates of Hell, full of trust and full of love.

 

\---

Now, in their third life, Kunzite worries which path he is about to take. Fortune is often served deceptively warm, in Kunzite’s experience, and he fears retribution for something he genuinely wants. Not because he believes he deserves it, but because he has known no other greater happiness, and he just wants to surrender and enjoy it. There is nothing else he wants in this world. If he could have this, Kunzite could die happy.

If he cannot, Kunzite decides, he will never pursue it again, as he knows destiny will not let him have it. He will not spread his curse to those he loves. To the one he loves.

So when Kunzite hesitantly reaches forth to grasp at slender fingers, his question is weighted with fear he cannot explain. It is trepidation that has rested and grown for millennia, and if he damns his lover by this question, he could never forgive himself. After all, he has already damned the poor boy many times over in the past, and he has not even asked for forgiveness on all counts yet.

But he hopes this act, both for his own selfish happiness but also for his lover’s, will put the scale back in balance.

He slips the little gold ring in his lover’s hand, and requests Zoisite’s presence by his side in the roads to come. Perhaps if he starts following Zoisite’s paths, instead of the other way around, it will lead them to a different destiny.

When the answer is _yes_ , Kunzite cannot put words to his euphoric relief, but also his indescribable fear. The stakes have never been higher; he had broken in half once, when Zoisite passed. If something were to happen again, Kunzite could only imagine himself as a spirit; lingering, spent, defeated.

But then Zoisite grasps his hands and presses his lips to his, and Kunzite feels himself relaxing. He feels the reins slipping from his grip, and its release is strangely fulfilling. The young man before him is beauteous and capable, and Kunzite finds himself finally fully trusting himself to the one who deserved it all along; the boy who so loyally followed every one of his steps in every life.

In this life, Kunzite is happy to be lead, wherever their destination is.

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> An older work, but one I still quite like and love to share. Kunzite's always a fascinating enigma to me and I love exploring what may make him tick. I hope you enjoy!


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